This Viper is quite a bit nicer than the older Hobbico Vipers. I have not seen one of the newer sonics, but I still have one of the Modeltec ARCs that they had out several years ago. They are very nice flying (similar to the Skat Cat) but the airfoil is not quite as agressive as the new Viper or Predator. Great for Sport flying, but will struggle keeping up with most of the modern racing airfoils.

For a sport plane, you can't go wrong with any of the Q500 planes available today. Stick with your current engine, and upgrade after you get bored (if you do) 120 mph is plenty fast compared to most planes out there. You might be suprised.

Daven